224 Mulberry Street
1. BUILDING OVERVIEW (ANALYST FRAMING)
Classification: Appreciation-Driven (Volatile)
224 Mulberry Street is an ultra-boutique "New Development" vintage condominium (built 2015) in NoLita, comprising only 6 units across 8 floors. The building is characterized by full-floor and multi-floor residences ranging from 3,000 to over 5,000 square feet. Post-sponsor behavior indicates an asset class that behaves more like "Rare Art" than standard real estate: liquidity is extremely thin (only 3 resales in 10 years), and value capture is highly sensitive to Market regime timing.
While the NYXRCSA benchmark shows a consistent upward trend through 2025, 224 Mulberry exhibits extreme volatility. One unit beat the market significantly (Unit 4, +42%), while another sold at a loss (Unit 2, -9%) and a third traded flat (Unit 5), proving that in ultra-luxury boutique assets, "Line-level premium persistence" is less about the line and more about the specific timing of the exit.
Sponsor Normalization Disclosure: Transactions dated 2015 (Units 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7) are classified as the Sponsor Baseline. These sales established the initial pricing tier of $2,700–$3,700 PPSF. I have excluded these from liquidity scoring to isolate true resale market behavior.
2. UNIT MIX & COMPOSITION
Composition (Transaction-Weighted): The building contains no small inventory. It is exclusively composed of "Family-Sized" assets, creating high barriers to entry and exit.
3-Bedroom: ~33% of inventory (based on sales).
4-Bedroom: ~67% of inventory (based on sales).
Studio/1BR/2BR: 0% (None exist).
Analysis: This mix creates significant "Liquidity Shift" risk. Without smaller, liquid units to create data points, pricing discovery is difficult. The building lacks the "churn" of 1-bedrooms seen in neighboring buildings like 75 Kenmare, meaning owners must be prepared for long hold periods.
3. LINE (STACK) PERFORMANCE — RESALE ONLY
A. Liquidity (Ranked Fastest → Slowest): Note: Liquidity data is extremely thin. Only 3 resale transactions have occurred since 2015.
Unit 5 (4 Bed): 1 Day (2021). Likely an off-market or pre-negotiated transfer.
Unit 2S (3 Bed): 28 Days (2020). Sold into the COVID correction.
Unit 4 (4 Bed): 38 Days (2021). Sold into the 2021 peak.
B. Price Strength & Dispersion:
Premium: Unit 4 commanded $4,156 PPSF in 2021, establishing the building's ceiling.
Discount: Unit 2S traded at $2,452 PPSF in 2020, a ~40% discount to the building's peak pricing, highlighting the severity of Market regime timing.
C. Appreciation: Performance is binary and volatile.
High Performer: Unit 4 (+5.6% CAGR).
Lagging Performer: Unit 2 (-2.2% CAGR).
Flat Performer: Unit 5 (+0.7% CAGR, likely a loss after carry).
4. BUILDING-WIDE PPSF TREND (NORMALIZED)
2015 (Sponsor Baseline): Median ~$2,900 PPSF (Range $2,697–$3,719).
2020 (Resale): $2,452 PPSF. (Significant drawdown vs Sponsor).
2021 (Resale): Median ~$3,800 PPSF. (Rebound above Sponsor).
2024-2025: No recorded sales.
Conclusion: Cyclical. The building does not compound linearly. It amplifies market cycles—crashing harder than the index in bad times (2020) and surging higher in boom times (2021).
5. RENT CAPTURE ANALYSIS
MANDATORY METRIC: Effective Annual Rent
Data Limitation: Source explicitly states "NO PAST RENTALS IN THIS BUILDING."
Analysis: This suggests the building is 100% owner-occupied or used as pied-à-terres where owners do not seek yield. From a B³ perspective, this is a "Yield Leak"—the asset generates $0 captured income, making total return entirely dependent on appreciation (which is volatile).
6. B³ SCORING SYSTEM (0–100)
Liquidity Score: 50
Speed is high (avg <30 days when listed), but Depth is extremely low (only 3 sales in 9 years). This is "bimodal" liquidity—it sells fast or not at all.
Rent Capture Score: 0 (N/A)
No rental history exists to support a yield score.
Appreciation Score: 65
Unit 4 showed massive gains (+42%), but Unit 2 and 5 showed losses/stagnation. The score rewards the high ceiling but penalizes the lack of consistency.
7. COMPOSITE SCORE & CLASSIFICATION
Composite Score: 52.5 (Adjusted weighting for missing rental data: Liquidity 50% / Appreciation 50%) Calculation: $(50 \times 0.50) + (65 \times 0.50) = 25 + 32.5 = 57.5$
Category: Appreciation-Driven (Speculative) The lack of yield and the high variance in resale outcomes (ranging from -9% to +42%) makes this a speculative hold for capital appreciation only.
8. TRANSACTION EXAMPLES
Note: The source data only contains 3 resale transactions total. I am listing all available post-sponsor data as per the constraint.
Resale Appreciation Example:
Unit 4 (4 Bed / 3 Bath):
Buy: Apr 2015 ($12,109,500)
Sell: Dec 2021 ($17,290,000)
Result: +42.7% in 6.6 years (~5.6% CAGR).
Driver: Market regime timing. Sold during the post-COVID luxury super-prime peak.
Resale Depreciation / Flat Examples:
Unit 2S (3 Bed / 3 Bath):
Buy: Dec 2015 ($11,000,000)
Sell: Apr 2020 ($9,999,999)
Result: -9.1% Loss in 4.3 years.
Driver: Market regime timing. Seller exited during the absolute trough of the pandemic market (April 2020).
Unit 5 (4 Bed / 4 Bath):
Buy: Mar 2015 ($10,437,062)
Sell: Dec 2021 ($10,999,000)
Result: +5.3% in 6.7 years (~0.7% CAGR).
Analysis: After transaction costs (broker fees, transfer taxes ~6-8%), this is a Net Loss.
Driver: Sponsor price normalization. The initial sponsor pricing was full-value, leaving little room for compounding despite the 2021 market peak.
9. RISKS & RED FLAGS
Zero Yield / Carry Cost Trap: With no rental history and high common charges typical of boutique doorman buildings, this asset has a 100% "burn rate" with no offsetting income.
Timing Sensitivity: The difference between selling in 2020 (Unit 2, -9%) and 2021 (Unit 4, +42%) is staggering. This building does not protect you from market volatility; it exposes you to it.
Illiquidity of Scale: 4,000+ sqft units limit the buyer pool to the ultra-wealthy. You cannot "fire sale" these units easily.
10. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
224 Mulberry Street is a "Trophy Asset" characterized by extreme exclusivity and high volatility. It behaves as a pure capital appreciation play with zero yield component (no rental history). Post-sponsor data is thin but reveals a binary outcome profile: owners who time the market perfectly (e.g., selling in late 2021) can achieve massive gains (+42%), while those forced to sell in softer markets (e.g., 2020) or who overpaid at the sponsor stage face stagnation or losses. It lacks the defensive liquidity of units with broader appeal. This building is suitable only for buyers with infinite holding capacity who can wait years for the perfect Market regime timing to exit.
B³ SCORECARD
Liquidity Score: 50/100
Rent Capture Score: 0/100 (N/A)
Appreciation Score: 65/100
Composite Score: 57/100
Category: Appreciation-Driven (Speculative)
Primary Unit Mix: 3-Bed & 4-Bed (Large Format)